The invention relates to a combustion chamber unit for an airbag module of a motor vehicle.
Such a combustion chamber unit comprises a combustion chamber housing enclosing a combustion chamber and a combustion chamber receptacle in which the combustion chamber housing is to be arranged, so that the combustion chamber housing abuts with an outer surface on an inner surface of the housing receptacle, wherein discharge openings are respectively provided on the one hand in the combustion chamber housing and on the other hand in the housing receptacle which discharge regions, by the arrangement of the combustion chamber housing in the housing receptacle as intended, are spatially associated to one another in such a way, e.g. overlapping each other in such a way, that gas generated in the combustion chamber can discharge through the discharge regions of the combustion chamber housing and of the housing receptacle to the surroundings in order to may inflate therewith the gas bag of the airbag module.
In the present case, the combustion chamber housing is an assembly group in which a propellant, in particular a solid propellant, may be comprised from which, after ignition by means of an associated ignition device, a gas can be generated with which a gas bag of the airbag module can be inflated in order to provide therewith a gas cushion for a person to be protected in the case of a crash. In order to enable a discharge of the gas generated in the combustion chamber to the surroundings, so that gas generated in the combustion chamber can be used for inflating the gas bag, the mentioned discharge regions, e.g. in the form of discharge openings, are provided in the combustion chamber housing.
By the arrangement of the combustion chamber or, respectively, to be precise, of the combustion chamber housing in an associated housing receptacle the combustion chamber can be held in a defined position in or at the motor vehicle. Further discharge regions, e.g. in the form of discharge openings, are provided in the housing receptacle so that the housing receptacle does not conflict with a discharge of the gases generated in the combustion chamber into a gas bag to be inflated, which discharge regions are spatially associated to the discharge regions on the combustion chamber housing in such a way that the gases released from the combustion chamber housing may continue flowing through the discharge regions on the housing receptacle in order to fill a gas bag, to be inflated, with gas.
It is not mandatory that the mutual discharge regions are exactly aligned with each other; depending on the one hand on the constructional design of the combustion chamber housing and on the other hand of the housing receptacle, an offset of associated mutual discharge regions can also be provided. It is important, however, that the mutual discharge regions are spatially arranged to one another in such a manner that gases generated in the combustion chamber housing may discharge through said discharge regions in order to fill an associated gas bag.